Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Drew Smith as the first Chair of FHISO, effective 1 July 2013. Drew is currently the Organisational Member Representative to FHISO from the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS).

“I am deeply honored to have been given this opportunity by the FHISO Board,” Drew said. “As someone who has made a career in information technology and librarianship, I recognize the critical importance of information standards, and as a long-time genealogist, I understand the needs of the world’s genealogy product and service vendors, repositories, societies, and individuals to collaborate and to share family history information. I look forward to leading an international effort to support the creation of these essential information standards.”

“We are excited to have Drew join us in this leadership role, as it marks a significant milestone in transitioning the […]

Eneclann (www.eneclann.ie) and Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that Eneclann has finalised its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. Brian Donovan, Eneclann’s CEO, said of the partnership “Digitising, indexing and publishing family history records online is fraught with problems. Genealogy needs FHISO to help navigate a collaborative solution to shared problems, and to set meaningful standards, and we in Eneclann are delighted to be partners in this”. The company will participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community in the development of standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information. As an organisation involved in the management, digitisation of, and research with archives, they bring a unique perspective on the work of FHISO. Fiona Fitzsimons, Research Director, commented ‘Digitisation of records has transformed the way we do genealogy, but […]

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA—Friday, March 22, 2013—Family History Information Standards Organisation, FHISO, has announced its 2013 Call for Papers Initiative (http://fhiso.org/call-for-papers/), signaling the commencement of open standards development work.

Members of the international genealogy and family history community are invited to submit written proposals as contributions to the FHISO standards development process.

“Modern standards development work is dynamic and deliberate,” said Robert Burkhead, FHISO Technical Standing Committee Coordinator and Acting Chair. “The result will be inclusive; it will be effective. It begins here. It begins with you and your participation.”

“For the first time, the proposals will be published to the benefit of all stakeholders making up the international community,” said Tony Proctor (UK), FHISO Organiser. “Collectively, the proposals will give rise to comments, member working groups and project teams. The information standards developed from this process will better support how […]

Boulder, CO and Gilbert, AZ — January 7, 2013 — Mocavo, Inc. and Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that Mocavo has finalized its plans to become a founding member of the organization. As part of this process, Mocavo has designated Ryan Hunter as its key organizational member representative. Ryan will participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community in the development of standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information.

“We are delighted to join forces with FHISO and the other Founding Members,” said Ryan Hunter, chief operating officer for Mocavo, Inc. “Technology standards provide the framework for cooperation amongst genealogists and genealogy technology providers. With this framework we can all benefit from being able to go deeper in our family histories and make new discoveries more easily. We look forward to contributing to FHISO’s important work.”

brightsolid to collaborate in FHISO’s Creation of Data Standards for Family History

DUNDEE, SCT (UK) and Chandler, AZ (USA) – Dec. 17, 2012 – brightsolid group and Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that the brightsolid group has finalised its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. As part of this process, brightsolid has designated organisational member representatives, including D. Joshua Taylor and Elaine Collins. The brightsolid representatives will work with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community in the development of standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information.

“FHISO allows for an important dialogue between technologists and genealogists”, said D. Joshua Taylor, Business Development Manager of North America for brightsolid, “brightsolid is happy to join this vital conversation and to collaborate with the global family history community”.

Lutterworth, Leicestershire (UK) and Gilbert, AZ (USA) — December 4, 2012 — The Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) and Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that the The Federation of Family History Societies has finalised its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. As part of this process, FFHS has designated Malcolm Austen as its key organisational member representative. Malcolm will participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community in the development of standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information.

“As family historians embrace the digital age and new technology transforms the way we research, discover and collate information about our ancestors, it is vitally important that we ensure that we adhere to the highest standards available when accessing and sharing data online. We are already seeing some of the problems emerging – incorrect citation of primary sources, […]

Austin, TX and Gilbert, AZ — October 29, 2012 — The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that the Federation of Genealogical Societies has finalized its plans to become a founding member of the organization. As part of this process, FGS has designated Drew Smith as its key organizational member representative. Drew will participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community in the development of standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information.

“After RootsTech 2011, the Federation of Genealogical Societies launched a Technology Initiative and committed itself to serving as a technological role model for its member societies. By becoming a founding member of FHISO, FGS provides yet another example of this leadership role in an area of technology that significantly impacts the lives of genealogists,” said Drew Smith, an FGS Director and FGS […]

The Hague (Netherlands) and Gilbert, AZ (USA) — October 11, 2012 — Coret Genealogie and Family History Information Standards Organisation, Inc. (FHISO) announced today that Coret Genealogie has finalised its plans to become a founding member of the organisation. As part of this process, Coret Genealogie has designated its founder, Bob Coret, to be an organisational member representative. Bob will participate with other FHISO members from the global genealogical community in the development of standards for the digital representation and sharing of family history and genealogical information.

“I am convinced that the genealogical community as a whole—profit and non-profit organisations, colleagues and competitors, developers and end-users—benefit from standards. FHISO provides the opportunity for us to combine the insight of all international genealogical players in the development of standards to support family history”, said Bob Coret, founder of Coret Genealogie.

“Coret Genealogie has been building tools and networks in the Dutch genealogical community […]